The biography follows the life and scientific work of a nineteenth-century naturalist who developed an early passion for collecting and cataloguing specimens, then advanced through museum posts to lead major institutions. It outlines his service as conservator and Hunterian professor at a surgical museum, his directorship of the national natural history collections, and his presidency of a leading zoological society, describing reforms to exhibition and museum practice. The text surveys his zoological investigations, notably on cetaceans, considers his anthropological work, and concludes with an appendix listing his publications and memoirs.